Czech Republic, 1998

May I first congratulate

the President on his election to the presidency of the fifty-

third session of the General Assembly and wish him every

success in this important position.

I would also like to thank his predecessor,

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, and praise him for the tireless

energy he devoted to pushing through reform steps in the

Organization.

The Assembly is meeting at a time when the world is

troubled by many major problems. Let me mention seven

which I regard as crucial.

The collapse of stock markets around the world,

triggered by the Asian and Russian crises, shows how

vulnerable national economies are in our increasingly

globalized economy.

Recent nuclear tests conducted by States not parties to

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) have jeopardized the progress made in arms control

and non-proliferation since the end of the cold war,

progress which is vital if global peace is to be achieved.

We have not yet been able to end wars in sub-Saharan

Africa and other parts of the world — including Europe,

and most notably in the former Yugoslavia, where the

conflict in Kosovo remains unresolved.

Terrorism continues to threaten individuals and

Governments. The attacks in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam are

recent examples of the death and destruction terrorists

continue to inflict on innocent people.

Fundamental human rights and freedoms are still being

violated and the human dignity of individuals is still being

humiliated in many countries on all continents.

The environment continues to be devastated by many

aspects of humankind?s activity, global warming being one

of the particularly ominous effects.

And the gap between the rich and the poor is still

widening despite many efforts to challenge hunger and

poverty in the developing world.

To address and solve these and other problems,

international cooperation is essential. The traditional

platform, the United Nations, remains the most suitable

for organizing the global efforts and resources needed for

this task. These issues are a tremendous challenge to the

United Nations, and so it is essential that the capabilities

of the United Nations be fully exploited. The

Organization must respond to them with flexibility. It

must provide realistic plans and procedures for dealing

with problems as they arise. And it must exploit the

political will necessary to implement programmes once

they are put in place.

A country?s international reputation is largely

dependent on its domestic health. In my country, this

year?s parliamentary elections resulted in a change of

Government. I wish to stress that the top foreign policy

priorities of the Czech Republic — joining the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European

Union — stem from our desire to actively contribute to

the implementation of the vision of a united, democratic,

peaceful, socially just and prosperous Europe; a Europe

without tensions or conflicts; a Europe of free citizens

and cooperating regions based on mutual solidarity,

human rights and cooperative security.

The Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are

expected to join the Alliance in 1999. The integration of

these countries, we believe, will justify the enlargement

of NATO and its contribution to European security. We

are keenly aware of our shared responsibility in this

matter. We expect NATO?s door to remain open for other

countries to join when they are ready. The Alliance?s

present role is not limited to safeguarding the vital

interests of its members by means of collective defence.

Over time it has made a contribution to global and pan-

European security. We are sure that, in close collaboration

with other European security institutions — such as the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE), the Western European Union and the Council of

Europe — NATO will be able to lay foundations for a

future all-European security.

Preparing for the next round of enlargement of the

European Union, an integration which is unique in the

world, is a task for all Europeans. By opening up

membership to Central and East European countries last

year in Luxembourg, the Union has finally overcome the

heritage of a divided continent. We hope the enlargement

process will maintain the present momentum and that it

will not be hampered by criteria other than the readiness

of each candidate country.

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Europe has been a contributor to global security.

However, it still has to put its own house in order. One of

the most complicated European security problems is

managing the consequences of the division of the former

Yugoslavia and, in particular, the restoration of a self-

sustained peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a settlement

of the situation in Kosovo in the former Republic of

Yugoslavia. We fully endorse the implementation of the

Dayton Peace Agreement and believe no better solution is

available. The military objectives of the Peace Agreement

have practically been met — that is undeniably one of the

great successes of the implementation of Dayton. Further

progress on the civilian side, however, continues to depend

on a substantial international presence in Bosnia and

Herzegovina, which has to be maintained until the desirable

end-state is achieved. That is why the Czech Republic

continues to participate in the international Stabilization

Force (SFOR) spending national resources both on its

military contingent in SFOR and on the reconstruction of

Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo

due to the ongoing conflict has to be addressed as a matter

of urgency. Belgrade must be strongly reminded that it has

crossed the limits of what is tolerable and legitimate. We

welcome the adoption of Security Council resolution 1199

(1998), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter just a few

hours ago. In our view, this resolution usefully foreshadows

the necessary steps for the international community.

The Czech Republic has traditionally paid great

attention to the Middle East peace process, and we are

concerned to see that little progress has been made. In our

view, a positive future for this region can only be secured

by successfully completing the peace process, and we

believe the process can soon be revitalized.

The Czech Republic also supports the endeavour of

the international community to solve the problem of

Cyprus. The current status quo is unacceptable. We hope

that Cyprus will be united as a federation in accordance

with the appropriate United Nations resolutions.

We are deeply concerned to see the deterioration of

security and the humanitarian situation in a number of

African countries, including in the region of the Great

Lakes, in Sudan and elsewhere. We fully support the efforts

of the United Nations and its work with the Organization of

African Unity (OAU) to settle conflicts and stop the human

suffering in Africa. Positive developments we can now

observe include an improving situation in Sierra Leone,

which is a source of our optimism on the issue of Africa.

We are ready to assist the various processes at work in

Africa, including the dispatching of observers to

respective United Nations peacekeeping operations, and in

the development of cooperation.

Recent problems in Asia have already been

mentioned. Here we are concerned not only with the

continuing regional economic and financial crisis and the

nuclear tests, but also with enormous natural disasters

taking thousands of lives and causing enormous material

and environmental damage.

The scourge of international terrorism must be

countered vigorously, and in cooperation among all of us,

as President Clinton eloquently appealed for at this forum

two days ago. This task is high on the agenda of many,

and we believe the United Nations, as the global platform,

should assert its responsibilities. We endorse all initiatives

aimed at cutting terrorists off from any support and

resources, isolating them and strictly punishing them.

Being a small country, the Czech Republic is

naturally interested in all international efforts aimed at

prevention and resolution of armed conflicts. We support

United Nations peacekeeping operations and all efforts to

make them more effective. I would like to reiterate that

my country is committed to contributing further to United

Nations peacekeeping operations, refining its own forces

to meet the new requirements. Let me point out the

increasing number of attacks against the personnel

participating in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations,

and join the call for strict punishment of the perpetrators

of these shameful acts.

We support nuclear disarmament and we look

forward to the complete elimination of nuclear arsenals.

This is why we regard the nuclear tests carried out in

May 1998 by countries considered non-nuclear-weapon

States as clearly negative steps. Universal compliance

with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT) is a logical step on the way towards

nuclear disarmament, as is speedy enactment of the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). On the other

hand, the progress made in the Geneva Conference on

Disarmament towards a fissile material cut-off treaty is

encouraging.

The Czech Republic appreciates the work of the

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in

the area of chemical disarmament. We are prepared to

continue contributing to the work of the Organization and

to strictly implement all its commitments arising out of

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the respective Convention. At the same time, we support all

efforts meant to speed up the negotiation of the verification

protocol text, which is to strengthen the Biological

Weapons Convention (BWC); we regard the protocol as an

important mechanism controlling implementation of the

Convention.

The signing of the Ottawa Convention on the complete

ban on anti-personnel landmines by about 100 Member

States, including the Czech Republic, has been a great

success. Now early entry into force has been ensured.

Implementation, however, will be an even bigger task for

all. While preparing for the ratification of the Ottawa

Convention, we have a clear view of its domestic

implementation.

It is the Security Council that continues to have the

decisive word in questions of peace and security. The

Czech Republic considers itself among the reform-minded

countries, supporting the Council?s enlargement, in both

categories of membership, which guarantees equitable

geographic representation. To be more specific, we continue

supporting the aspirations of the Federal Republic of

Germany and Japan in this respect.

It is rather disappointing that after five years of the

Working Group?s dealing with this issue concrete results

have not been achieved. On the contrary, it seems that

Member States are even further apart on the issue.

Unfortunately, the same applies to the question of

improving and simplifying the methods of the Council?s

work, on which consensus seemed to be near a year ago.

It is our view that the Working Group should continue

its work with the aim of achieving general agreement, to

the extent possible, until the end of the millennium. We

hope that talks will eventually produce concrete results that

could be put on the agenda of the fifty-fifth session of the

General Assembly within the Millennium Assembly

concept.

The new Government of the Czech Republic attaches

great importance to the issue of human rights. This

December we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a

document substantially influencing the international

community and international relations.

The record of these 50 years is no doubt impressive,

but there is still a long way to go to achieve the desired

universal acceptance and indivisibility of human rights. This

sad situation can be illustrated by the fact that there are still

countries governed by totalitarian regimes where people

are punished for such absurd “crimes” as distributing the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights or for refusing to

explain where they obtained such a “subversive

document”. However, it has to be admitted that economic

sanctions or embargoes do not seem to be effective means

of persuading a country to promote human rights.

The successful conclusion of the Diplomatic

Conference in Rome last July, which resulted in the

shaping of the International Criminal Court, fills us with

hope. The adoption of the Court?s Statute is a clear

breakthrough in the area of humanitarian law and human

rights protection. We are aware that this is only an initial

stage of the long process leading to a functioning Court,

but the step taken in Rome was crucial. I would like to

express our gratitude to the Government of Italy for its

substantial contribution to the success of the Conference.

Cooperation in the social, economic and

humanitarian areas should undoubtedly be, in addition to

building peace and security, major preoccupations of the

United Nations. Over the last few years there have been

strong discussions on the Economic and Social Council

and its function. The Czech Republic was actively

involved during its Council presidency in 1997. The

challenge for the Council, stemming from globalization of

economic and other links, was enormous. On the other

hand, the actual possibilities of this body to tackle

substantial issues were rather limited. But now we are

pleased to see it undergoing some promising changes.

The Czech Republic appreciates the attention paid by

the United Nations to the critical issue of globalization

and its impact on economic and social development in the

different countries of the world. For many, like my

country, whose economies are undergoing a fundamental

transformation, the consequences of globalization are

doubly difficult to handle. That is why we would like the

United Nations to have a clear agenda on globalization,

and we are encouraged by the lead provided by the

Secretary-General.

The new Government of the Czech Republic has

promised in its Programme Statement wide support for

the strengthening of United Nations authority. We have

welcomed the results so far achieved in implementing the

Secretary-General?s plan for United Nations reform. Much

of the reform package, however, remains unresolved, and

a number of proposals have not left the negotiating table.

The Czech Republic supports speedy approval and

implementation of the remaining reform proposals.

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However, even the best blueprints do not count for much

without money to implement them. Like others, I want to

stress that the financial situation of the Organization is

alarming, and I would like to underline that discipline with

regard to contributing is a must for all.

We look with expectations to the proposed Millennium

Assembly to be held in the year 2000, inspired, among

others, by Czech President Václav Havel. The Millennium

Summit held within its framework could then focus on the

challenges the United Nations will be facing in the next

millennium and identify major trends and objectives of

future United Nations activities. In addition, an important

role could be played by a related non-governmental

“Millennium Forum”. The Czech Republic?s special

contribution to such a debate can be “FORUM 2000”, a

conference taking place in Prague next month aimed at

highlighting global problems that humankind faces at the

threshold of the twenty-first century.

In conclusion, allow me to express my sincere belief

in the eventual success of the United Nations reform

process. I think we can all agree that from this process the

United Nations, a truly remarkable Organization, will

emerge consolidated, strengthened and more capable than

ever of solving the problems of the contemporary world —

an Organization open to all who are willing to contribute to

the fulfilment of this important task.